NAD: Ground Zero Ampworks Hellion V3

[chumbucket]

Also got the Kikusui all wired up and tested today; such a useful tool to have - allows both voltage and frequency to be dialed in which is crazy cool:

Can.you get rack ears for that unit?

 

[2dor]

Can.you get rack ears for that unit?

Doesn't look like it.

 

[chris lykins]

What school of amp would you say it falls in? Modded Marshall, rectoish, its own thing?

 

[2dor]

What school of amp would you say it falls in? Modded Marshall, rectoish, its own thing?

It can do a lot of stuff. In my time with it, it can easily do classixlc Marshall, modded Marshall and aggressive 5150-like stuff with ease. It really is a very versatile & juicy amp; punches like a donkey too.

 

[RedPlated]

The aesthetics are incredible jeremy! Well done man

Thanks man! Really appreciate it.

 

[grrr_me_scary]

@RedPlated did an amazing job with this one. I've had quite a few amps pass through my hands in the last year and this thing is at the top of the pile.

Only got it a few hours ago & have just put about 40 or so minutes into it. Very low noise floor, very articulate but is flexible enough to get hairy & as dirty as you need it to.

The Ultraplex is awesome.

Will post back once I've had some more time with it the next couple of days.

I haven't yet tested the loop.

I was at Jeremy's and had seen this one there, and he had told me he had just finished putting it together (the last one from this run), and getting it ready to be shipped out.

Definitely a beautiful amp and really a keeper!

Congratulations on the purchase!

 

[grrr_me_scary]

What school of amp would you say it falls in? Modded Marshall, rectoish, its own thing?

Personally, I felt this Hellion has an evolved sound from the previous V2 where it does not sound like the previous version.

I would say it now has the "Ground Zero" evolved tone where the previous versions sounded more like a "Ground Zero" Modded Marshal and Mark Series thing.

Both amps sound killer and I feel they should be thought of as two different amps with some similar tonal features/options.

You can get some exceptionally cool tones out of the amp and you should be able to play a wide range of styles and riffs with the amp!

 

[peterc52]

Had a quick play before taking off for the weekend with wifey

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

Had a quick play before taking off for the weekend with wifey

Sounds fucking monsterous!

 

[2dor]

Had a quick play before taking off for the weekend with wifey

The note separation is just awesome.

 

[2dor]

Have been spending more time with the amp these last 2 weeks and it's crazy how much sonic territory this thing can cover.

I drove it over to a friend's house earlier this month and had it pumping along a couple of pretty cool amps:

- Fortin Evil Pumpkin
- Soldano SLO100 (BAD)
- Bogner Ecstasy 101B
- VHT / Fryette Pittbull Ultralead
- Wizard Modern Classic MCII
- Lenz-modded JCM800 Snorkler
- TWS Lulis

and this thing just straight-up rips; takes no prisoners.

@Doctor Blue was testing it out here (Hellion wasn't in the frame) and couldn't believe how close it sounded to the SLO.

With all the controls @RedPlated exposed on the front panel, we were able to match it to the Evil Pumpkin and the Soldano SLO without too much effort; it has an insane amount of punch - just enormous, articulate, massive punch.

... and the Ultraplex channel is a freakin' jewel; can do Super Lead stuff in spades and then some.

I plan to get some 6CA7 tubes in there too since Jeremy's demo showed that they actually do make a difference in overall tone & I'm down to checking that out.

Oh, a Tung-Sol in v1 works very well in the Hellion V3 as well.

 

[chris lykins]

So if you have a SLO, is it worth looking into?

 

[2dor]

So if you have a SLO, is it worth looking into?

It's a lot more flexible than an SLO that's for sure but owning both depends on how much $ you can afford to spend on amps. If I'd had to choose between them, I'd go Hellion3 any time of the day but I'm biased and purchase validation's also be a thing to consider lol.

I'll tell you one thing though, I had a purple-panel SLO back in January (IIRC) and it was very easy to let that amp go; I'd have a very hard time letting go of the Hellion.

 

[peterc52]

It's a lot more flexible than an SLO that's for sure but owning both depends on how much $ you can afford to spend on amps. If I'd had to choose between them, I'd go Hellion3 any time of the day but I'm biased and purchase validation's also be a thing to consider lol.

I'll tell you one thing though, I had a purple-panel SLO back in January (IIRC) and it was very easy to let that amp go; I'd have a very hard time letting go of the Hellion.

Did you ever try a MOAB? I was lucky to buy my old one back.

 

[2dor]

Did you ever try a MOAB? I was lucky to buy my old one back. View attachment 463572

Never had the pleasure; would love to get one eventually.

 

[RedPlated]

Have been spending more time with the amp these last 2 weeks and it's crazy how much sonic territory this thing can cover.

I drove it over to a friend's house earlier this month and had it pumping along a couple of pretty cool amps:

- Fortin Evil Pumpkin
- Soldano SLO100 (BAD)
- Bogner Ecstasy 101B
- VHT / Fryette Pittbull Ultralead
- Wizard Modern Classic MCII
- Lenz-modded JCM800 Snorkler
- TWS Lulis

and this thing just straight-up rips; takes no prisoners.

@Doctor Blue was testing it out here (Hellion wasn't in the frame) and couldn't believe how close it sounded to the SLO.

View attachment 463557

With all the controls @RedPlated exposed on the front panel, we were able to match it to the Evil Pumpkin and the Soldano SLO without too much effort; it has an insane amount of punch - just enormous, articulate, massive punch.

... and the Ultraplex channel is a freakin' jewel; can do Super Lead stuff in spades and then some.

I plan to get some 6CA7 tubes in there too since Jeremy's demo showed that they actually do make a difference in overall tone & I'm down to checking that out.

View attachment 463556

Oh, a Tung-Sol in v1 works very well in the Hellion V3 as well.

Great post. I like reading how the amp compares to the others in the collection. Impressive list of amps you guys had there.

V3 definitely brings the low end and punch over previous versions. It’s noticeably bigger and punchier.

The 6CA7’s are very cool. About the same amount of low end as the 77’s. But more low mids and a smoother top end. I’d say they’re more, “modern” sounding. I have an amp loaded with each tube at the moment.

So if you have a SLO, is it worth looking into?

Even if the Hellion can sound like an SLO, an SLO cannot sound like a Hellion. If that makes any sense….

I haven’t personally A/B’d the Hellion to an SLO in the same room. I can say, however, that the Hellion is not an SLO-based circuit and really has not much in common with it. It’s not really based on anything specific that’s already out there.

The amp does SO much more than sound like any one particular amp. You wouldn’t have any redundancy.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

V3 definitely brings the low end and punch over previous versions. It’s noticeably bigger and punchier.

Hmm. I need to try it. I believe i tried v1, and i didnt think it lacked for punch at all. But seeing that it has more low end sounds interesting.

I still think the Moab was one of the top amps I have played.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Did you ever try a MOAB? I was lucky to buy my old one back. View attachment 463572

Looks a lot like the one I had, was a top 5 amp and one of the longest owned amps I've had.

 

[2dor]

Alright, got the 6CA7 quad in there & biased but can't blast it loud today due to the hour over here:

Can't wait to try'em out.

 

[griff10672]

Here's a hi-res shot of the switches. I searched so long to find a good switch with black levers. Not common!

View attachment 460017

I came to this thread just for the fancy toggles ........... what an incredible looking Build !!!!!

Footswitch came out MINT !!!

Kudos Jeremy !!